The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout - OPTIONAL

The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout, 366 pages.  Tor Teen (Macmillan), 2018.  $19.  

Content: Language: R (124 swears; 1 “f”); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13.  

BUYING ADVISORY: HS – OPTIONAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH  

Evie knows that she shouldn’t go into the shady club that her mom would disapprove of, but she does it anyway and it changes her life.  Evie meets a handsome boy at the club named Luc, but she can tell that he isn’t completely human.  After the devastation of the Luxen war, the humans did win and the Luxen, or alien race, is under strict rules, but when Evie gets pulled into Luc’s world she begins to understand that the humans don’t have as much control as they think.  

The Darkest Star is a spin off from Armentrout’s Lux series and Luc is one of the minor characters from that series.  I loved the Lux series, so it was fun to go back into that world and Armentrout writes characters with good chemistry.  I’m excited to read more of this new series.  The only reason it’s optional is the swear count.  I think teens would enjoy this book and they will especially enjoy it if they read the Lux series and get a background on the world, but this book can stand on its own.  Fun read!  

C. Peterson